Confrontations
by angellwings
Summary: For a tumblr prompt challenge. Prompt: Wyatt, Rufus, and Jiya meet Noah by accident when hanging out at a bar with Lucy after a bad mission that endangered Lucy's life


The minute November 4th, 1979 had been mentioned Lucy knew it would be a near impossible mission. Worse maybe than the French Indian War. Wyatt had recognized the date too as had Agent Christopher and Mason. Only Rufus and Jiya remained in the dark.

"Tehran," Lucy said with a sigh. "You know, Flynn may have killed his way through history but at least he seemed to care about his own survival. I'm not sure Emma does. Getting mixed up in Tehran is insanity."

"What's Tehran? What happened?" Rufus asked.

"November 4th 1979 is the day 66 Americans were taken hostage after the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was over run," Wyatt answered. "52 of them were held for 444 days."

"It was considered to be the event that cost President Carter the next election. It led to Reagan taking office. Many believe that, were it not for the Hostage crisis, Carter would have been re-elected and we may not have had Reagan as President at all. This could be very bad," Lucy said as she looked thoughtfully into the distance.

"What are you thinking over there, Professor?" Wyatt asked.

"Reagan brought the Cold War to an end in his second term. You don't think Emma and Carol would want to keep him from being elected, do you? Would Rittenhouse want the Cold War extended?" Lucy asked the entire room.

"As long as there's fear, someone can profit off of it," Agent Christopher offered.

"So, what you're saying is, that we have to make sure 66 people are taken hostage in a US Embassy so that Reagan can get elected and put an end to the Cold War?" Rufus asked.

"Basically," Lucy said with a conflicted sigh.

"Well, that sucks," Rufus said as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"I don't like this," Wyatt said after a moment. "It's too risky. We're obviously Americans and the group responsible rounded up civilian American hostages in the area after they took over the Embassy. If we're too close we could get caught up in that."

"I don't like it either," Lucy agreed. "But we have to go. Too much could change if we don't."

Wyatt huffed and set his jaw angrily. He wasn't angry at Lucy or Rufus. He was angry at the situation. This carried too much risk. They'd been in danger before but this was a volatile situation and they'd be arriving just in time for the explosion. "Fine, but the _both_ of you will stick to me like glue. Got it?"

"Trust me," Lucy said as she took a deep calming breath. "I'm not letting you out of my sight, Soldier."

He gave her a small supportive smirk at her statement and nodded. "Good to hear."

* * *

They'd succeeded in making sure the hostage crisis took place. Lucy almost hadn't made it out.

They'd gotten separated in the chaos and she'd been swept up with the hostages. The first rescue attempt wouldn't be until April, Wyatt knew. They wouldn't move anyone until then so the hostages would be in the Embassy for a while. The problem was getting in and getting her out without becoming a hostage himself.

They'd managed it with the help of a local police officer. He'd aided the group behind the take over at first but he'd had no idea what their plan really was. He was meant to be guarding the Embassy and so knew all the routes in and out.

Honestly, in the face of all that humanity, they had wanted to get more people out and they almost had. They'd gotten six of the captured to the British and Swedish Embassies. They'd originally freed 10 but four were captured again before they'd even made it off the Embassy grounds. The six they saved were the six that would have evaded capture anyway. In the original timeline, those six evaded capture and sought refuge in other Embassies. They were smuggled out by the Canadian Government and 2 CIA operatives in January of 1980. In the new timeline, they were captured but escaped with the assistance of Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus.

Now that they had made it back to the Lifeboat Wyatt finally got a good look at Lucy. There was a large swollen bump just above her eye. It was so swollen that her left eye was basically shut. He hurried her inside the Lifeboat and studied her as he helped her with her seatbelt. He spotted at least three bruises: one perfectly round bruise on her temple, a handprint shaped bruise on her throat, and a small bruise on her right cheek. He gently ran a hand over the bruises on her face and forced himself to keep his emotions in check.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy," he told her as he removed his hand.

She shook her head and grabbed his hand as he tried to return it to his side. "Not your fault," she told him.

He nodded, though he didn't believe her, and sat down in his seat. He couldn't believe he lost her in the crowd. He should have kept a hold on her the whole time. Why did he let go?

He was so sick with worry that he barely noticed the usual queasy feeling that came with time travel. Combined with her injuries though, Lucy looked worse than normal. Wyatt unbuckled himself quicker than he thought possible and reached across to steady Lucy as she began to slump forward.

"Okay, okay, I got you," he said in a soft comforting voice. "We're home." He undid her seatbelt for her and he and Rufus helped her exit the Lifeboat. He reluctantly handed her over to the Doctors on Mason's staff and kept his eyes on her as they led her away.

"What the hell happened?" Agent Christopher asked him with obvious worry in her voice.

"They had her for about three hours, ma'am," Wyatt said as he put up a professional stoic front. "We got her out and ran for the Lifeboat. I'm not sure what happened to her." At those words he felt his front crash down around him. How could he not be sure? What had they done to her? What had he let them do to her?

There was a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see Rufus standing in front of him. "You did everything you could do, Wyatt. This is not your fault."

"Yeah," he said dismissively. He wished he could believe that.

"Would it do me any good to tell you to home and rest?" Agent Christopher asked him knowingly.

"Not until she goes home," Wyatt answered immediately.

"I thought so," she said with a sad smile. "She'll be okay, Wyatt. Lucy's strong."

* * *

He waited outside the examination room for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes. A nurse poked her head out and smiled kindly at him. "Let me guess, Master Sargent Wyatt Logan?"

He nodded dutifully, and the nurse chuckled. "She said you'd be waiting out here."

"What does she need?" He asked. Knowing the nurse wouldn't have opened the door to look for someone if she didn't need _something_.

"Her civvies," the nurse answered. This nurse had some military background it seemed. "She says they're in the Wardrobe."

He nodded. "Right away, ma'am."

He sprinted to the Wardrobe and found the Wardrobe Master, who knew exactly where Lucy had left her civilian clothes. The man placed them in a white plastic bag and handed them to Wyatt. Wyatt was surprised to find the exam room door open when he returned.

"That took less time than I thought it would," Lucy said with a small grin. "Did you run, soldier?"

He smiled softly at her and shrugged. "Maybe a little."

She chuckled and then winced. "Ow."

All of the injuries he'd seen had been to her face. What had happened that hurt when she laughed? "Luce-"

"No, it's fine. Just slight bruising on my ribs. The Doc says they're not broken. She checked," Lucy assured him. She held her hand out for the bag but he set it aside and instead helped her down from the gurney as gently as he could.

"What happened?" He asked quietly.

"I'd read reports of what had happened to those hostages, Wyatt. But all the reports were about things that happened after they moved them, after the failed rescue attempt. I didn't think it had gotten so violent so soon," she said in a soft tone as her breathing quickened. "Richard Queen had gotten dizzy and had an episode. He doesn't know that he has multiple sclerosis yet and won't for months, but I had to help him. He would have fallen and hit his head and then who knows? They didn't exactly like that. I got kicked, and forced to the side. After that, they forced me and some of the others to our knees and started to play Russian Roulette." The explained the bruises on her ribs and the round bruise on her temple. Tears were spilling freely from her eyes now and he carefully pulled her to him. He held her loosely so as not to aggravate her ribs. He was almost afraid for her to continue but she did. He wasn't sure if it was because she just needed to say it all out loud or if he made her feel safe. He hoped it was the latter. "When the gun went off and there was no bullet he hit me with the butt of the gun and knocked me to the floor. After that, I just tried to lay low. Not be seen." She nestled her head against his chest and cried. He assumed it was because of the torture she'd been through, but he was wrong. "We-we just left all of those people there. They're going to have to live with that for 444 days, Wyatt. How could we have done that? Why did we _have_ to do that?"

Wyatt closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head. She already knew the answer. She didn't really want him to answer her. He held her for a few more minutes until her tears subsided and then handed her the bag of clothes. "Come on, get dressed. I think we need some time away. I'll be waiting outside while you change, okay?"

She nodded as he hesitantly released her.

He shut the door behind him and found Rufus and Jiya waiting outside.

"Hey, guys, the door was open you could have-"

"You had the situation well in hand," Jiya said with a knowing smile. "You didn't need us."

"How is she?" Rufus asked.

"Shaken up, bruised, but otherwise okay," Wyatt said with a sigh. "I think we need to get her away from here for the night."

"The usual place?" Rufus asked. Wyatt nodded.

"We'll go get a table. You and Lucy can meet us there," Jiya offered.

"Sounds like a plan," Wyatt agreed.

They left and he waited while Lucy changed. She came out in her plain clothes, holding the 1979 ensemble in her arm. He took it from her and they dropped it off at the Wardrobe before heading out to his car. Lucy was quiet, pensive.

"Wyatt," Lucy said, breaking the silence and reaching for his hand. "Thank you."

"For what?" He asked with a scoff.

"Hey, stop that," Lucy said in a scolding tone. "You came back for me. You got me out of there."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have lost track of you in the first place," he said as he shook his head at himself.

"You couldn't have avoided that. There was a mob and the crowd parted. The important thing is, you found me and we got out," Lucy reminded him. "I'm here, you're here, and Rufus is here. We're fine. We're home."

He parked outside of the bar and then turned to face her. He smiled softly at her. "I said that exact same thing to you when the Lifeboat landed today."

"And we both should probably actually listen," Lucy told him with a small smile.

He chuckled and nodded his agreement. "Yes, ma'am." That seemed to be the end of their wallowing. A weight lifted off of his shoulders and he stepped out of the car. Before Lucy could open her own door he'd opened it for her.

She rolled her eyes at him with a teasing grin. "You know, I've made peace with all the 'ma'am's but I can open my own door."

He smirked at her and shrugged. "I'm just too polite I guess." They walked toward the door and he stopped before reaching for the door. "They didn't give you any pain meds did they?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No. They gave me a prescription to fill for pain meds but I haven't taken any yet."

"Good," he said as he opened the door to the bar for her. "That means you can drink and if anyone deserves a drink after today, it's you and me."

"There you go, opening doors for me again," Lucy told her with a smirk.

"What your fake fiancé never opened a door for you?" Wyatt asked teasingly.

"Oh, he did, but that was the thing…he was my fiancé. It's different with friends," Lucy told him.

Wyatt shook his head. "We'll have to agree to disagree, Professor."

She smiled and shook her head at him as she waked through the door. Rufus and Jiya waved to them from a both across from the bar.

"Oh, wow," Jiya said with a wince. "Your eye." She motioned to her own eye and Lucy gingerly reached up and touched the bump above her eye. The swelling had gone down but it was still black and blue.

"It looks better than it used to," Rufus added in attempt to be helpful. "Your eye is actually open now."

Lucy laughed and nodded. "Gee, thanks, Rufus."

"Anytime," Rufus said as he tipped his beer bottle toward her.

She looked briefly self-conscious and Wyatt noticed her adjust her scarf to hide the bruise that covered her neck. He took her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.

"I think it makes you look like a bad ass," Wyatt said with a wink.

Lucy laughed and rolled her eyes at him. "Oh yeah, I'm sure I look like a rebel without a cause."

"Yes, a total James Dean," Wyatt said with a smirk and a nod. "All you need is a leather jacket and a pack of cigarettes rolled in your shirt sleeve."

"Wow," Lucy said with a grin. "You weren't lying during that mission in the fifties. You really do dig it."

"Parts of it," he agreed with a chuckle.

They had just ordered their drinks when someone accidentally bumped their table.

"Sorry about that—Lucy?"

Lucy looked up to find her ex-fiance staring at her in shock. "Noah, hi. How are you?"

"Better than you it seems," he said as he pointed to his own eye. "Are you okay?"

Lucy had tensed in the booth next to Wyatt. Carol had insinuated somethings about Noah being Rittenhouse months ago when she'd revealed herself. She'd never come out and said it but Lucy remembered the hints. "I'm fine," she said as she waved him off dismissively. "Tried to play sports and took a baseball to the face. Figures, right?"

She thought of that lie fast, Wyatt thought as he tried not look visibly impressed.

"Yeah, is that what happened?" He asked her suspiciously as he threw an uneasy look at Wyatt and Rufus. "You sure it doesn't have anything to do with whatever you were doing when I pulled a bullet out of that guy's gut?" Noah asked as he pointed at Rufus.

Wyatt shook his head. He hadn't really liked the guy when he'd met him and meeting him a second time had not changed his opinion. He chuckled humorlessly.

"Something funny?" Noah asked him in an irritated tone.

"No, nothing at all. I mean I can't really blame you, I guess. You just don't know as much as you think you do," Wyatt said as he met Noah's furious gaze with his own calm one.

"You're implying that I don't know Lucy as well as you do, is that it?" He asked as he glared at Wyatt.

"Noah," Lucy said in a warning tone. "This really isn't the time or place for this."

"Yeah, well, when would there be a time or place for this? You never answer my calls," Noah stated as he gave her an expectant look.

"We broke up," Lucy answered with a tired sigh. "I gave the ring back and everything. Remember?"

He chuckled darkly. "Yeah, hard to forget. So, I'm just supposed to accept that? No discussion or anything? We had plans, Luce. You and me. We're meant to be together and we've always been meant to be together."

Wyatt didn't like the way he sneered the word 'meant' like he knew something they didn't. Lucy didn't seem to like it either based on the way she shivered next to him. "Yeah, I think it's time for you to go, Doc," Wyatt said as he gave Noah a stern look. "I don't think I like the way you're talking to her."

"Me either," Rufus said as he glared at Noah as well. "I think if you really cared about her you'd accept her decision and move on."

That seemed to be the last straw because Noah reached for the collar of Rufus's shirt but Wyatt was faster than him. He grabbed Noah's wrist before he could yank Rufus up by the collar.

"Don't make me do this, man," Wyatt said as he released Noah's wrist and stood up. "You won't look good."

Noah shook his head and rolled his eyes. He looked past Wyatt to Lucy. "This isn't over."

"No, it is. It really is. I know somewhere in there is a good guy, Noah, and that good guy would know it's time to let me go," Lucy said in stern yet gentle voice. "We _are_ over."

Noah blinked at her for a long moment before he turned and stormed out of the bar, slamming the door behind him.

"It's always nice to run into old friends," Jiya said sarcastically.

Rufus laughed lightly and moved for the first time since Noah had tried to grab him. "Next time I think I'll just keep my mouth shut."

"I don't know," Jiya said as she leaned over and kissed Rufus quickly. "I kinda liked it."

"You okay?" Wyatt asked Lucy as he sat back down.

She sighed tiredly. "I guess my mother was telling the truth."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"She hinted that Noah was Rittenhouse. Something about his family being loyal to the cause. I wasn't sure if she was just trying to manipulate me or telling the truth," Lucy admitted. "But that guy, was not the Noah I knew. That was a completely different man, somebody vengeful."

"You want me to tell Mason to look him up with his new Big Brother-y software?" Jiya asked Lucy.

"Do it," Wyatt said immediately. He knew he'd answered for Lucy but her safety was his job. He did not like the look in Noah's eyes just then. "If we can find something on him, it'll be one less thing we have to worry about. I never liked that guy anyway."

Rufus scoffed. "That is brand new information," he said sarcastically. "You didn't like him before you even met him."

Lucy nodded. "You were always very anti-fiancé."

"You can do better," Wyatt said with a shrug.

"Than a hot doctor?" Jiya asked with a smirked. "Who do you have in mind, Wyatt?"

Their drinks were sat down in front of them and Wyatt took a big sip to avoid answering the question.

"Oh, I know, some nerdy professor type with tweed patches on the elbows of his jacket," Rufus suggested with a smirk.

"Hey! Lucy has a jacket like that," Jiya said as she pointed across the table. "They could be one of those super coordinated couples. You know, the really annoying ones."

Wyatt took a second sip of his drink. Imagining Lucy with a professor type caused a strange heavy feeling in his chest. He could see that working out for her. Someone who could match her obscure historical factoid for obscure historical factoid. He pressed a hand against his chest briefly as the heaviness began to weigh on him more.

"You okay?" Lucy asked him in concern.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm good," he replied as he cleared his throat awkwardly.

Lucy turned her attention back to Jiya and grimaced. "No thanks. I have enough professor types in my life and, honestly, we're kind of boring. The last guy I dated in our home timeline was a professor and all he wanted to do was stay home and read. I mean, I like to read too but not all the time. Just going out for drinks every now and then would have been nice. And we agreed on everything. I don't want to argue all the time either but I think disagreements every now and then are good. They're usually a catalyst for growth. So, no. No professor types."

Wyatt hadn't realized he'd been staring at her or that the heaviness he'd been feeling was suddenly gone. Not until she turned to meet his startled gaze with a bashful one of her own.

"What?" She asked as she reached for her napkin. "Is there something on my face? I mean, besides my black eye?"

He couldn't manage a reply. He just continued to stare at her. Did she realize that she'd basically described the two of them?

"You know, Lucy," Jiya said with a knowing smirk. "Kinda sounds like you were describing Wyatt." Rufus moved slightly and then Jiya glared at him. "Ow, what? We were all thinking it."

Lucy blushed a deep red. "I, um, I guess I did." Wyatt smiled slowly at her and just as he'd forgotten Rufus and Jiya were even there, Rufus spoke up.

"Hey, you know, we're gonna go…somewhere else," Rufus said as he grabbed Jiya's hand and pulled her out the booth. "We'll be back…whenever."

Lucy chuckled and shook her head, still blushing. "Subtle."

"So, you prefer me to professors and doctors?" Wyatt asked with a smirk.

"Do not let that go to your head," Lucy said as she finally dared to meet his eyes.

"Too late," he said with a chuckle. She smacked his arm playfully. He gently grabbed the hand she'd used to smack him before she could pull it back. He brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it. "Why shouldn't it go to my head though?" He asked. "You're a hell of woman, Lucy, and any guy would be lucky to be a part of your life."

"Wow, you made it sound like you being cocky is a compliment to me. Smooth, Mr. Logan. Very smooth," Lucy said with a bright smile and a giggle. Wyatt had never heard her giggle. He liked the sound of it. A lot.

"I have my moments," he said with grin and a shrug.

"Well, now that you know my preference," she said as she turned toward him in her seat. "What are you going to do about it?"

He reached out and ran his fingers over the bruises on her face. "Those three hours they had you today were some of the most terrifying hours of my life." The confession was heavier than she expected but the care and concern in his eyes made her feel warm all over.

"Seeing you come running into the room was probably the happiest moment of my life. But I knew you'd come. I had no doubt," Lucy told him with a serene smile. "You always come for me."

He nodded and leaned into her space before he spoke again. "I always will."

He didn't know who moved first. He couldn't remember if she closed the distance or if he did, but it didn't much matter. Either way, they were kissing. Slowly, carefully. Neither wanted to pressure the other, but when it was clear they weren't backing out the kiss deepened. Her hands cupped his face and one of his found the small of her back. He tried to pull her closer but it aggravated her bruised ribs and she hissed against his mouth.

"Sorry," he said as he pressed his forehead to hers. "I forgot."

She smiled affectionately at him and nodded. "Don't worry. I forgot too."

He gave her one more short kiss before they pulled apart. "Dinner tomorrow?" He asked.

She slipped her hand in his and laced their fingers together. "Provided no time related emergencies come up, absolutely."

"So, this is happening?" Rufus asked as he and Jiya slipped back into the booth. He motioned between his two friends on the other side of the booth and continued. "It's happening, right? Tell me it's happening."

Lucy and Wyatt said nothing but grinned secretively at each other before each taking sips of their drinks.

"It's happening," Rufus said to Jiya with a confident nod.


End file.
